Fernhill House welcomes artificial
intelligence Alzheimer’s study

New research
showing artificial intelligence can detect Alzheimer’s brain changes almost a
decade before symptoms emerge has been welcomed by the manager of Fernhill House.

The study,
carried out at the University of Bari in Italy, saw researchers develop an
algorithm which can discern structural changes in the brain caused by the
neurodegenerative disease.

And
while there is currently no cure, an earlier diagnosis means that if taken earlier
mitigating drugs could be more effective, enabling sufferers to slow the progression
of the disease.

The news
has been greeted as a positive step in the fight to minimise the impact of Alzheimer’s
by Peta Mandleberg, manager of Fernhill House which has a vibrant approach to
helping people living with this and other forms of dementia.

“This is
another step forward in the quest to improve the lives of elderly people. We
have a vibrant and innovative approach to living in later life – with a packed
programme of activities and outings and unusual facilities such as an indoor potting shed, a ‘real’ pub, a shop and
1950s and 60s themed games and staff dressed casually in vintage clothes.

“We also have a beautifully equipped
children’s nursery populated with lifelike dolls which residents can ‘adopt’.
This doll therapy can be a very powerful way of helping people with dementia
manage their condition – with some very touching outcomes.”

The AI
was taught to distinguish between the MRI scans of healthy brains and those
containing sticky beta amyloid plaques which are present in Alzheimer’s
sufferers. It successfully differentiated between the two sorts of brain with
86 per cent accuracy and could tell the difference between the healthy brains
and those with a mild cognitive impairment and who then went on to develop Alzheimer’s
within two and a half to nine years with 84 per cent accuracy.

The research
team is now planning to trial the AI system with other neurodegenerative
diseases such as Parkinson’s.